SunKing951

Hi there,

My wife is Canadian and I have British citizenship...We are considering a relocation to Canada, so could anyone confirm for me to what extent it would be possible for me to acquire Canadian citizenship (and how difficult that would be)? I found a few earlier posts but sometimes the info was contradictory. And would I be allowed to keep my UK citizenship too?

I can smell the maple syrup already

Many thanks!

Elaine B.

You have to become a Permanent Resident first and then wait a few years before you can become a Citizen and yes you can keep your British Citizenship.

Check out the WIKI on Spousal Sponsorship and that should make things clear.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousa...sorship-Canada

pennyhp

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

Can't help much as I don't know anything about spousal applications, but certainly at the momnet you can keep British citizenship when you take Canadain citizenship.

Others will be along shortly who know far more than I do about this.

Just a thought though, you may get more response on the immigration forum.

Atlantic Xpat

You need to first obtain Permanent Residency. Search for 'Family Class' Sponsorship on the forum or at www.cic.gc.ca. Essentially your wife sponsors you for PR of Canada. Through the UK it takes somewhere around 6-12 months to be processed.

Once a PR of Canada you need to complete 3 years actually in the country before you can apply for citizenship. So if you live here for 3 years but travelled outside of Canada for 2 months on vacation/business you need to have been here for 3 years 2 months. An application for citizenship I believe takes around 18 months.

In real terms the only difference between being a PR married to a Canadian and a citizen is that as a PR you can't vote and if you did anything illegal you'd likely be deported to the UK. Once you become a Canadian citizen you can retain you UK citizenship and are a dual national. (Unless the policy changes in either the UK or Canada which I think is unlikely.)

SunKing951

Many thanks to all of you for the helpful advice!

One other question on this:

Aren't there any added difficulties when applying for a job in Canada as just a PR instead of a full citizen? For example, it's much harder for an American to work in Europe with just PR instead of EU citizenship since the company has to pay more for all the bureaucratic red tape, work visas, etc....it's much easier for them to hire a local EU citizen. Wouldn't there be a similar detrimental effect, even if less significant, if I searched for a job in Canada without Canadian citizenship?

Thanks!

Elaine B.

The only time I can think of when it might be a problem being a PR rather than a Citizen is that for certain government jobs you have to be a Citizenship. I was in Canada for 8 years before I bothered getting my Citizenship it's nice to have but not essential. Plus there's no way around it you have to become a PR first and then wait a few years (I forget the exact figure) before you can apply for Citizenship even if you are married to a Canadian.

Atlantic Xpat

Aside from the Federal Govt, you are just as likely (or unlikely) to get a job as a PR as you are a citizen. Or to put it another way, if by some way you could magically become an instant citizen (which you can't) with no Canadian experience, then you are in the same position as if you have just become a PR with no Canadian experience!

Whether you can find a job in your field as a PR (or for that matter citizen or on a work permit) is a different issue and depends on what you do, where you are and all the same factors that affect your ability to secure employment in the UK. Don't sweat it.